These pages This holiday home in Ahmedabad is divided into two distinct blocks that bracket a swimming pool. The private spaces like the bedrooms are housed in the rear block and open out on to the pool area while the public spaces of the house are situated in the front block, where the entry to the home is located.

An open book Modo Designs creates an ephemeral holiday home with dissolving boundaries on the outskirts of Ahmedabad

As one walks along the pathway on the expansive green grounds of this Ahmedabad home, the house reveals itself to those coming around the landscaped hillock. Spreading outward in a horizontal sprawl, this 3600 sq ft home makes use of the width of the plot. The two separate blocks, one hosting the living and dining and other social functions, the other housing the bedrooms and private spaces, engage in a rhythmic interplay with their alternating open and closed facades.

Intended as a weekend home, with an emphasis on hosting social functions, the house has been designed by Arpan Shah of Modo Designs. He says, “The essential brief was to design a resort-like open place. Keeping that in mind, the house is designed as two blocks separated by an open-to-sky space. The idea was to allow natural elements into the blocks and engage the users with these elements and thereby connect them to nature. It was intended that a sense of openness and flow of space prevail.”

The material palette for the house echoed the closeness to nature. Shah chose to use Indian granite cladding on the external walls, as well as river-finished granite for the flooring in both the blocks of the house. For the interiors, Burma teak was widely used, the same wood that was used to create the large glass door panels of the living room. “By using natural materials, eliminating false ceilings in internal spaces and keeping RCC slabs exposed, we’ve give the house its intended informal nature,” Shah says.

The front block, where the living and dining are situated, plays up the sense of openness. It is

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designed as a pavilion, standing on steel columns with floor-to-ceiling glass windows to create the desired effect of the hall being open on four sides. “With the house being in a hot arid area, the glass doors and windows were given the buffer of entry foyer in the east, a 12’ cantilevered verandah in the south and a wooden screen in the west to optimise heat gain,” Shah continues.

The cantilever above the verandah is a dramatic feature that immediately strikes visitors who approach the entryway. “We imagined a floating space and didn’t want any columns on the edge of

verandah, so we decided to have mild steel trusses which were then concealed in the inclined wood ceiling,” says Shah.

Between the two blocks, a narrow open-to-sky space creates breathing space for the house. Planted ferns and greenery crowd up to the periphery of the living room’s glass walls, fostering a close link with nature. Shah describes this subtle insertion as “allowing the user to sense the natural elements, the sun rays intercepting at certain times, the earthy element in the form of plants, the rains and fragments of sky.”

Above A lattice screen made from Burma teak complemented by a re!ective pool creates a serene yet unobtrusive entrance court underneath the cantilevered verandah roof to welcome visitors.

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Behind the front block, there is a noticeable variation in the expression of the house. The rear block is more stark and introverted in comparison to the floating aesthetic of the front block. It houses private bedroom spaces and the kitchen, which is concealed behind a blank wall, while the bedrooms open out on to the garden and pool area. “In contrast to the living room, the bedrooms use wooden doors and operable louvers to allow for privacy and also reduce heat gain,” Shah points out.

These two blocks bracket the pool and garden. This has the double benefit of allowing for a great

view and connection to the outdoors, as well as creating a favourable microclimate to combat the arid conditions during summer.

The furniture inside, particularly in the living room, tempers the strong, straight lines of the architecture. A curvilinear couch creates a sinuous pattern that offsets the bold, deliberate form of the structure. Speaking about the furniture, Shah says, “The furniture was mostly assembled on site. All of it has been made in Burma teak with a natural telpani polish so that the interiors are a continuation of the architecture.”

Top The cantilevered roof of the front block of the house was created to block the harsh afternoon sun. Instead of columns, Shah decided to support the cantilever by concealing steel trusses within the inclined wood ceiling.

Above The bedrooms in the rear block open out on to the pool deck, with views of the lawns and the front block to give the entire project a continuous visual thread.

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Above The dining area is tucked into a corner of the front block. Rows of potted greens on the other side of the glass create an outdoor dining feel.

Top right As the front block was intended as a gathering place for family functions, the architect chose to encase it on all four sides with glass windows. This allowed for views of the landscaped grounds from the living and dining areas while !ooding the spaces with natural light.

Right The front block contained the public spaces and was intended to function more as an outdoor pavilion than a room. Shah accordingly chose to have glass on all four sides, giving the roof a !oating appearance while preventing heat gain using a cantilevered roof as well as a shield wall. The sinous couch was chosen as its curvilinear form offset the rectilinear lines of the structure.

Taking the brief of creating an open and inviting place, Modo Designs came up with a project that seemed not only warm and welcoming to its inhabitants, but even embraced nature and its surroundings. “The project reinterprets the sense of the Indian traditional spaces which were weaved around open spaces. The materials used are earthy and dark, which also softens the strong natural light of this part. Our concerns also have to been to develop a more inclusive architecture that includes the elements of nature and which we have tried to address in this project too,” sums up Shah.

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Above and right The bedrooms and bathroom were kept relatively simple. The idea of the home being a place for communal gathering in the public areas dictated the restrained approach.

Architect Arpan Shah, Modo DesignsAssociations Council of Architecture (COA), Faculty of Architecture Alumni Association (FAAA)Interiors Saptak PatelCladding Pearl GranitesFlooring Jayantilal & Co., Pearl GranitesPaints Asian PaintsLighting Changi, ABBA Lighting SolutionsBathroom !ttings & accessories KohlerSlate Tiles Jayantilal & Co.Bed linen FabindiaOutdoor lighting ABBA Lighting Solutions

Story by Dushyant ShekhawatPhotography by Radhika Pandit

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Know Your Architect: Arpan Shah, Modo Designs

Arpan Shah set up Modo Designs in 2002. With an aim to developing innovative, imaginative and sensible design through a process of research, exploration and refinement, the Ahmedabad-based firm strives to integrate local elements in its

projects. The firm has received the Indian Achievers Award in Construction in Design in 2012 from the Indian Economic Development & Research Association (IEDRA), amongst other awards. Shah’s design philosophy leads him to attempt

to reveal the reality of things through poetic expression.

Which works of yours are you most proud of?In our recent residential projects we have tried to make more amorphous designs where boundaries get dissolved and a dwelling connects with natural elements. Our focus in these projects has been to create a harmonious whole and an integration of architecture, interiors and landscape. I value these recent works as they have been the last part of my evolution of my journey as an architect.

If you could go back in time, what work of yours would you like to re-create?My early houses were more about the external form and outlook, wherein a more integral spatial approach would have enriched spaces. However that is now a part of the evolution of my journey.

For you, which is the best city in terms of architecture and why?Some of the European cities surely are wonderful to experience as a pedestrian. Also appreciate a city like Jaisalmer, where moving along its streets evoke a local monolithic environment as if carved from the surroundings and creating nuances of form and space.

An architectural or design trend that you would like to put an end to?A trend that focuses on the surface and the two dimensionality of a building, as to me it is very superficial.

Name one iconic architect/designer that inspires you the most and why?The thoughts and works of Frank Lloyd Wright have inspired me for their vision and for developing principles of organic architecture as if the art of architecture is a continuation of natural world. The entire approach was more about inspiring young designers to interpret in creative ways rather than finding restrictive vocabulary. It was about understanding the natural surroundings and finding expressions that coexist with it.

What according to you is good design?Good design is something that interprets a problem to be addressed and is an appropriate solution that has an aesthetic value, is durable and works functionally. At a ‘product’ level, may be this can be universally relevant as seen nowadays, while in a realm like architecture, the definition of a good design gets more subtle as it needs to address a lot of local climatic, social and cultural concerns.

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